This invention relates to a binder having an observation window which students, and particularly those of a younger age, will find to be useful and attractive. Young students purchase or create a purchasing demand for large quantities of school-related products which meet utilitarian needs while being appealing to the eye. Moreover, the demands of such customers have spurred a creative response resulting in a flood of new school-related products, particularly in the field of binders and portfolios. These products provide the youthful customer with an opportunity to make an identity statement by carrying school papers in a distinctive product of his or her choosing. Examples of such products are disclosed in a series of patents and patent applications assigned to the assignee hereof. They include: Wyant U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,791 which discloses a portfolio having a decorative woven fabric cover sheet, Spence U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,724 which relates to a binder with a pencil pocket and Moor U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,798 which discloses a binder having a decoratively perforated interior pocket, Wyant U.S. patent application Ser. No. 357,917 filed May 30, 1989 showing a portfolio with a mirrorized cover, Wyant U.S. patent application Ser. No. 379,306 disclosing a portfolio having a cover provided with a plurality of decoratively arranged window mounts for personal photographs and Moor, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 356,152 filed May 24, 1989 disclosing a binder having decoratively die-cut support panels covered by thermoplastic sheets which are heat-sealed into the die-cut portions to create a three-dimensional effect.